The cover of the 1978 Funkadelic album, “One Nation Under a Groove.”
Janet Jackson wasn’t the first musician to sing about being part of a rhythm nation. In 1978, New Jersey’s most popular funk group — the eccentric and visionary Funkadelic, led by George Clinton — had the biggest hit single of its career with its propulsive anthem “One Nation Under a Groove,” from its album of the same name.
“Here’s my chance to dance my way out of my constrictions,” Clinton sang, though more people probably remember the more flippant refrain: “One nation under a groove/Gettin’ down just for the funk of it.”
Check it out below.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday last year. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we are marking the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. We started in September 2014, and will keep going until late in the summer.
If you would like to suggest any songs to be included, please let me know in the comments section underneath the video. And if you want to see the entire list, either alphabetically or in the order the songs were selected, click here.
